In 2016, researchers from Saint Joseph’s University and the University of San Diego found that snapping a photo of food before taking the first bite can actually improve your perceived taste of it. The research was published in the Journal of Consumer Marketing.
The researchers wanted to test if taking a photo before you eat your food prompts you to pay more attention to its taste.
They conducted three studies, on 120 participants each. In the first study, participants were given either a slice of red velvet cake or a fruit salad and told they had the option of taking a picture of the food. They found that the people who took a photo of the red velvet cake thought it tasted better than the people who didn’t — those who took a photo of the fruit salad didn’t experience a change in perception.
The result wasn’t far from the hypothesis though as they found that photographing food made it taste better only if it was indulgent. Photographing healthy food will only make it taste better if you believe that you should eat healthy foods.
Credit: Pulse
Photo credit : Dooney’s kitchen
